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Sunday Group
The Sunday Group is the varsity long-form team of Theatre Strike Force . It can contain anywhere between 5 and 10 members, which are cast at the beginning of each semester. The group performs 25-minute long-form shows that have taken a number of various formats over the years, including the Harold, the Armando Diaz, the Bat, the Shotgun, the Mamet, and Follow the Leaver. The group performs on average 5 times each semester, with occasional road shows at improv festivals and in other cities. The Sunday Group is considered the "elite" house team of TSF, and has spun off the Delta Group (intermediate) and the Apprentice Group (beginner). The team is usually directed by a senior member or alumnus of TSF. Traditionally, the performers on the Sunday Group wear business-formal attire, including neckties for the men. Early Years The Sunday Group was founded by Heather Roberts in 1996 after she took members of TSF to the Big Stinkin' Improv Festival in Austin, TX, and attended long-form workshops taught by Charna Halpern and Amy Poehler. Roberts put together a team that would meet separately and experiment with long-form improv. It met on Sundays, thus the team's name. The first cast included Bill Arnett , Danny Mora, Jason Pardo, and Ed Zeltner. In the early years, auditions for the team, like all TSF functions, took place during scheduled class time for Improvisation for Social and Political Issues. The team began to adopt "alternates" each semester, who would sit in on rehearsals but only perform with the team if a regular member was absent. Eventually, the number of alternates became so great that they were formed into a new, junior varsity team, the Apprentice Group. Directors After the departure of Heather Roberts, the Sunday Group went through a few different directors in a short amount of time before eventually settling with James Whittington, who directed the team until he moved to Chicago in 2000. Jill Mueller directed the team for one year, until she moved to San Francisco in 2001. Afterwards, James Whittington approached Skyler Stone and told him to direct the team. Stone remains the longest-serving Sunday Group director, having helmed the team from 2001 through 2007, and becoming an influential figure in the group's style and presentation. Under his leadership, the team traveled to festivals across the country, including the Dirty South Improv Festival and the Philadelphia Comedy Festival. Stone left Gainesville in 2007 and passed the team onto James Gallen, who had directed AG. Gallen directed the team from 2007 to 2010, following in Stone's footsteps and entering the team into the College Improv Tournament in 2008 and 2009. Under Gallen, the Sunday Group usually consisted of 5-6 members, a reduction of the standard 8 during Skyler Stone's years. In 2010, an organizational restructuring within TSF resulted in the position of Sunday Group director to be appointed by club leaders every year (instead of the informal "passing down" system), and Gallen was replaced by Rudy Mendoza. Mendoza directed the Sunday Group through the end of 2011, and was replaced by Tim Keck, who directs the team today. Festivals and Tournaments Because it typically consists of the top performers in TSF, the Sunday Group often represents the larger organization at improv festivals. The Sunday Group has performed at the Big Stinkin' Improv Festival (Austin), the Dirty South Improv Festival (North Carolina), the Philadelphia Comedy Festival, the New Orleans Improv Festival, the Miami Improv Festival, the Blackbox Improv Festival (Atlanta), and the Gainesville Improv Festival. The Sunday Group competed for TSF and the University of Florida in the College Improv Tournament from 2008 through 2010. *In October 2008, the team competed in the East Regional in Boston. After winning the preliminary round, the team lost in the finals against the home team, Suffolk University's Seriously Bent, who went on to place second place overall at the national level. *In October 2009, the team competed in the Southeast Regional in Atlanta. It won both its preliminary round and the final round, winning the Southeastern Regional overall and earning an automatic bid in the nationals in Chicago. In February 2010, the Sunday Group competed in the finals in Chicago but lost in the first round to Northwestern University's Daddy Mags, who later won the overall tournament. *In October 2010, the team competed in the Southeast Regional in Atlanta, won its first round, but came in second place to University of Georgia's Improv Athens in the final round. However, they were given a wildcard bid for nationals in Chicago. In February 2011, the team competed in nationals, but lost in the first round to Columbia College's Droppin' Science. TSF now assembles a new team to compete every year in the College Improv Tournament, though it often contains many members of the Sunday Group. Casts Below is the Sunday Group casts dating back to 2004. Spring 2004: Leonardo Garcia, Derrick Aguis, Matt Devine, Josh Breit, Eddie Geller, Dayyanah Goutier, LaKendra Tookes, Butch Tanner. Fall 2004: Eddie Geller, Dayyanah Goutier, Derrick Aguis, James Gallen, Drew Korb, Derek Orth, Brandon Barrick, Brian Jaeger. Spring 2005: Derrick Aguis, James Gallen, Drew Korb, Derek Orth, Brian Jaeger, Dayyanah Goutier, Brandon Barrick, Jamison Webb. Fall 2005: James Gallen, Brian Jaeger, Dan Gordon, Jamison Webb, Jenn Hosford, Nathalia Parra, Traci Gryzmala, Ty Flowers. Spring 2006: James Gallen, Brian Jaeger, Dan Gordon, Jamison Webb, David Dong, Traci Gryzmala, Nathalia Parra. Fall 2006: Jamison Webb, David Dong, Zach Huddleston, Poonam Patel, Nicole Christiansen, Jenny Tota, Alli Laboon, Danny Grunwald. Spring 2007: A) Jamison Webb, David Dong, Poonam Patel, Jenny Tota, Brooks Heatherly, Filup Molina, Maxx Mann, Stephanie Bell; B) Brian Jaeger, Danny Grunwald, Nicole Christiansen, Jeff Quintana, Jennifer Francis, Erik Voss, Catherine Alford, Eric Schackne. Fall 2007: Nicole Christiansen, Erik Voss, Jeff Quintana, Brooks Heatherly, Matt Flagler, Rich Camillucci, Stephanie Bell, Malik Grady, Adam Bowers. Spring 2008: Nicole Christiansen, Erik Voss, Jennifer Francis, Maxx Mann, Jodi Greenberg, Juel Taylor. Fall 2008: Erik Voss, Jennifer Francis, Maxx Mann, Jodi Greenberg, Juel Taylor, Ashley Hoffman. Spring 2009: Erik Voss, Jennifer Francis, Maxx Mann, Juel Taylor, Brad Berghof. Fall 2009: Erik Voss, Jennifer Francis, Brad Berghof, Jacob Warren, Brittany Walters. Spring 2010: Katie LeBlanc, Liz Anderson, Spencer Hamilton, Skyler Kern, Dan Hardcastle, David Kim. Fall 2010: Robert Colomberti, Spencer Hamilton, Patrick Hart, Katie LeBlanc, Shawn McWhinnie, Johnny O'Mara, Drew Carroll. Spring 2011: Robert Colomberti, Spencer Hamilton, Patrick Hart, Tim Keck, Katie LeBlanc, Shawn McWhinnie, Johnny O'Mara, Derek Shoemaker. Fall 2011: Robert Colomberti, Tim Keck, Patrick Hart, Liz Anderson, Stu Rimland, Justin Parker, Jacki Schwarz, Collin Cunninghame. Spring 2012: Liz Anderson, Kelly Colomberti, Collin Cunninghame, Bradley Hersch, David Kim, Justin Parker, Stu Rim, Jacki Schwarz, Derek Shoemaker.